Bookkeeper at Lower Providence church accused of stealing $156K

NORRISTOWN — A Lower Providence church bookkeeper allegedly broke the “Thou shalt not steal” commandment, embezzling more than $156,000 from church coffers.

James Lee Moody, 47, the former bookkeeper at Victory Fellowship Church, was arraigned on charges of theft by unlawful taking or disposition, theft by deception, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, identity theft and unlawful use of a computer in connection with alleged incidents that occurred between May 2011 and May 2013 while he worked at the church in the 2600 block of Audubon Road.

Moody, of the 3500 block of Woodhaven Road, Philadelphia, is being held in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $250,000 cash bail while awaiting his preliminary hearing, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 25 before District Court Judge Cathleen Kelly Rebar in Lower Providence.

It isn’t Moody’s first contact with law enforcement.

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According to the arrest affidavit and court records, in December 2001, Moody, then of Parkview Drive in Souderton, was sentenced to jail time and probation on charges involving credit card fraud and alleged theft while he worked as the controller for Special Olympics of Pennsylvania in Montgomery County. At that time, authorities alleged Moody stole $20,865 from the group.

Moody, according to court documents, was hired by Victory Fellowship Church in December 2010 as a bookkeeper and church administrator.

With the latest charges, District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman and township police alleged Moody, who was responsible for managing and administering the church finances at a salary of $18 an hour, secretly arranged for the church’s payroll company to provide unauthorized, regularly-scheduled deposits into his personal credit union accounts as compensation, even though he had already been directly paid by the church in full for the same work.

Moody allegedly received 50 such deposits without authorization: 25 payments of $2,700 each between May 2011 and May 2012; and 25 payments of $3,541 each between June 2012 and May 2013, according to court papers.

“Upon the discovery of the alleged actions, we reported them to the authorities. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement in their investigation. At this time, we are unable to provide more information as the investigation is ongoing,” Pastor Rick Martin, executive pastor of the church, said Tuesday when contacted for comment about Moody’s arrest.

The alleged theft was uncovered in March when church officials were notified about “an inordinate amount of bad checks” that were written from the church’s bank account, which resulted in bank fees, according to the arrest affidavit. Officials met with Moody to review church bank statements, which demonstrated that the church was losing about $2,000 each month due to bad check bank fees, court papers alleged.

During that investigation, authorities discovered that Moody, during the hiring process, also committed identity theft by providing church officials with a false date of birth and a Social Security number and a driver’s license number that belonged to others, according to court documents.

Authorities discovered Moody was convicted in 2001 of stealing nearly $21,000 from the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania organization in Montgomery County while employed as their controller, according to the criminal complaint.

“I believe that Moody purposely provided false biographical information for his background investigation to not divulge his arrest from 2001 and to obtain employment,” Kennedy alleged in the criminal complaint.

In December 2001, court records indicate, Moody was sentenced to 10 to 23 months in the county jail and 11 years of probation after he pleaded guilty to charges involving credit card fraud and no contest to allegations he stole cash from the Special Olympics group during a seven-month period in 1999 while he handled the group’s finances.

At that time, prosecutors alleged Moody charged more than $5,700 to his corporate credit card for personal items and stole at least $13,581 in cash.

While Moody pleaded guilty to the credit card fraud, he denied that he stole the cash. He pleaded no contest to stealing the cash. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is an admission that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.

Mercury staff writer Frank Otto contributed to this story.

Follow Carl Hessler Jr. on Twitter @MontcoCourtNews

The following is an earlier version of this story.

NORRISTOWN – A Philadelphia man has been charged with allegedly stealing more than $150,000 from a Lower Providence church where he was employed as a bookkeeper.

James Lee Moody, of Woodhaven Road, is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of posting $250,000 cash bail after he was arraigned on theft-related charges in connection with alleged incidents that occurred while he was a bookkeeper for Victory Fellowship Church on Audubon Road in Lower Providence from May 2011 to May 2013.

Under the terms of his employment, Moody was responsible for managing and administering the church finances in exchange for $18 an hour, according to court papers.

Moody allegedly secretly directed that the church’s payroll company make regularly-scheduled deposits into his personal credit union accounts as compensation, even though he had already been directly paid by the church in full for that same work, prosecutors alleged. Moody allegedly received 50 such deposits without authorization to do so, prosecutors alleged.

The investigation further determined that Moody also committed multiple counts of identity theft during the hiring process in 2011 by providing the church with someone else’s Social Security number, date of birth and other identifying information as his own, thereby impeding the accuracy of the pre-hire background investigation, according to authorities.

Check back here for more details on this breaking story.

Follow Carl Hessler Jr. on Twitter @MontcoCourtNews

About the Author

Carl Hessler Jr. writes about crime and justice at the Montgomery County Courthouse for The Mercury and 21st Century Media Newspaper’s Greater Philadelphia area publications. A native of Reading, he studied at Penn State University and Kutztown University before graduating from Alvernia University with a degree in communications. He is a recipient of a National Headliner Award and has been honored for his writing by the Keystone Press Association, Philadelphia Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Associated Press Managing Editors of Pennsylvania. Reach the author at chessler@pottsmerc.com
or follow Carl on Twitter: @MontcoCourtNews.